Christmas Spirit, by Russ

Much like SciFi Dad, I'm having difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit. I don't know exactly why, most likely it's the lingering remnants of a head cold. I can't count out the week the Wife ran off to Indy, or the internal roller coaster about going back to school.

So in an effort to jump start the whole Christmas Spirit, I've tried several things with varying degrees of failure.

First up: Visit Santa Claus! As I've mentioned in the past, my insurance agent has a Santa come in for all of his customers. For the first time we a) had no tears! and b) remembered the camera. I'm not sure which was more impressive. I'm going to go with the camera, since I have no control over whether the kids cry or not.

Miss L was less than sure of what to make of the whole situation. She cried a little bit waiting, but when it was time to see the big man, she was a trooper. That means, she just sat there not really knowing what to do. But hey, no tears!










Mr. B, on the other hand, was an old pro at this. He hopped right up and told Santa what he wanted. As a bonus, he didn't go off script and add a non-approved toy to the wish list.











Yesterday, continuing the effort for Christmas Joy (where is she?), BIL and I took the kids to see the Leonard Bearstein Orchestra. Yes, it was as hokey as it sounds. In short, it was a bunch of animatronic bears singing and playing Christmas Carols. During the first song, Mr. B turns to me and says, "Can we go home now?"

Hey, I feared that he would be scared. Bored is a much more tolerable reaction. Plus, it means that we can go to Disney World without me worrying that he will shit himself while on Pirates of the Caribbean.

After that, we went to look at a gingerbread house. A nine foot tall ginger bread house. Hansel and Gretal, eat your heart out!

Yep, I spent the time telling the kids, "no touching!" and "not in the mouth!"

Good times.

Then I got dinged for parking when BIL was unable to get my car out of parking deck as promised. $10 for less than an hour.

Perhaps, I just need to go find some eggnog...

Hoops by Russ

Last night I went to the Charlotte Bobcats game with my Dad and BIL. The Bobcats showed all sorts of hospitality toward the visiting Raptors, but Toronto insisted that the hosts win the game. Yes, through three quarters it was nothing but sloppy pseudo-rec league basketball. Thankfully I didn't pay for the tickets.

The fourth quarter both teams played hard. But then, that is the knock on the NBA, the first three quarters don't matter, it is the fourth quarter that decides the game.

So, for most of the game, it meant that I could people watch without worrying that I was missing something. At one of the timeouts the 'lady cats' and the 'cat crew' came out to toss tee shirts into the crowd.

We had on of the lady cats gyrating in front of us (we were in the sixth row). My Dad leans over and asks if I would like a couple of those. I turn and furrow my brow at him. (He has never once made any noises about the 'dance teams' at sporting event. I was even barred from having 'girlie' posters as a youth because he did not want me objectifying women. /tangent) So I was a little confused. Then I noticed the dude from the 'cat crew' with springy stilts (for lack of a better term).

I demurred, citing that would most likely break a bone.

Overheard, by Russ

While exiting Mr. B's pre-school this morning, I overheard two moms discussing how cold it is (17F this am, 20F or so at time of drop off). Neither are from 'round here, really not from 'round here! One from Jolly old England and the other from South Africa. (We get people from all over here in Charlotte.)

The UK mom was saying just how lovely the weather is, so crisp and clear.

The SA mom complained that it feels like the arctic (being South African, shouldn't it have felt antarctic?).

The UK mom said, no, it is so dry and not dreary at all! Very lovely.

Me, just shaking my head and agreeing with SA mom. I moved here to get out of this blasted cold.

Fun Times by Russ

It would seem that between the Wife traveling and my son's school, we managed to pickup a bug. So after a weekend of humidifiers and moving slowly, not to mention short fuses all around, we are finally back at Monday. The kids seem to be their old selves, mostly. The Wife is busy infecting people at work (she is taking most of the rest of the year off and feels like she can't take the day). I have the nose of the amazing technicolor snot.

On to other news.

I had weird experience last week. My universal remote lost its programming. It would still work with the satellite receiver, but not with the TV. Mostly that didn't bother me, except when I needed to adjust the volume. That was annoying. I couldn't even go old school in my remote, the kids are too small to reach the volume buttons. Not to mention that the channel, mode, and a couple of other buttons are also located next to the volume buttons. Not like the knobs on the sets of yore.

Well, I'm going to go think about what I want for Christmas while I'm flushing my head.

Better than feared, by Russ

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of my day, but still, it could have been worse. Miss L seems to have a calming effect on Damian. Once Mr. B came home, well that is another story. At least by that time, I could just throw them outside and be done with it.

The worst part of the day was my parents minivan. My sister borrowed it on my behalf as my two compact cars don't have room for three car seats. As she left with my car, she still had to get to work, she told me to not close the garage door.

Well, as I was loading the kids into the van the garage door button, which was stored in my pocket, was triggered. Since I was in the third row with kids blocking my exit, I couldn't get out to stop the decent. On top of that, the button picked that time to touchy and stop working.

Thankfully the damage was only a couple of scuffs to the rear door. It could have been much worse. Should there be a next time, the van will remain out on the driveway.

I learned an important lesson here. When I buy a new car, I will need to restructure my garage to allow the car to get all the way in!

Good times at the Russ House! by Russ

The TSO concert was fun, not as good as last year, but fun nonetheless. I don't know if it was because we did it already or because the set list included fewer Christmas songs and several other songs that have yet to be released. Whatever the reason, a good time was still had, just not as good as we thought we would have.

Sunday, we had our dinner club over to our house. This meant that the Wife was in full cleaning wack out mode. I was in cooking mode and could just bury my head in chopping veggies. (Ah, therapy!)

The party went reasonably well. At the last party, the uber-liberal was busy trashing Catholics. This party, we found out that out of the five families that attend, three are Catholic (and all go to the same church, but different Mass times). I was more than a little amused by that turn of events. Everyone had the good graces to not bring up her tirade this go around.

Yesterday, the Wife left for Indianapolis for the week. The kids did not handle it well. Today has been better.

Today, I get to watch Damien. That is because a) my parents said "we're too busy today" and b) I'm a sucker. Also, I'm banking the time so I can send my kids over there and have the house to ourselves...

TSO by Russ

Yep, it's time for the annual Trans Siberian Orchestra concert. The Wife has decreed that since she enjoyed it so much last year, that this will become an annual event. I'm ok with that. A bit pricey, but it tends to be our only concert of the year so I deal with it.

So after a late night out I get to go read to a bunch of two year olds. I'm thinking that I should bring some earplugs so I don't end up yelling at the poor bastards. Nothing quite like having 'The Night Before Christmas' screamed at you by a 6'4" guy. Would that make it more akin to 'A Nightmare Before Christmas'?

I'm off to get some good beer, good grub, and good music!

Oh boy, by Russ

So I talked to my sister. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. A while back she told me she was pregnant. Needless to say, I feigned happiness for her, but wept on the inside. If she couldn't (wouldn't?) control one child, how the hell will she deal with two?

I thought she was still a year or two away from even trying for another child. She was making all sorts of noise about not being able to afford to have two children in daycare. I bet that is pricey. Then to find out that she is pregnant now, I guess it meant that she couldn't wait any longer.

Fast forward to last weekend.

I'm talking to her again (twice in one month!) and she sounds a little weak. She said that she just came from the doctor's office for her first ultrasound. Thankfully the babies are doing well.

wait WHAT!

Yep, twins. She who cannot control one child will now have three. The greater problem will be no place for Damien while she is dealing with the twins (hereby dubbed Thing 1 and Thing 2). I suspect this could cause some big issues for Damien. May be he will surprise me. I would expect not.

I suppose I will pop some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the fireworks!

Turkey Weekend, by Russ

This would have been Monday's post, had Sunday night's unfortunate events not occurred.

We were off to the out-laws for the weekend. Traffic was already backed up on the interstate. I felt like I had a cold coming on. Finally, the kids were acting like a two and four year old, and not in a good way.

Oh happy day.

We finally arrive and FIL is still at work. This is a man who a) professes that he wants to see his grandkids more and b) is retiring in four weeks. (Were I in his shoes, I'd be coming home for lunch everyday and returning to work would be optional. But that is just me.) Right after MIL calls him at the office to let him know that we are there, he heads home.

Not a few moments later, we get a call from the assisted living community where the Wife's grandmother resides. Evidently she had a stroke.

Called FIL on the cell and redirected him to help his mother. He arrived at the assisted living community and she was still there (it is a good 30 minute drive).

The rest of us snarf down dinner so the Wife can go sit with her father and grandmother. I'm left alone with MIL. The kids want to know where gramps is.

By the time the two of them return, my ears are two bloody stumps from being chewed off by MIL. At that time, we found out that it was not a stroke, but an infection. So that ended reasonably well.

Thanksgiving day was rather uneventful. Aside from me drinking a tad too much and telling MIL that I didn't want to do Christmas at her house because I want the kids to have it at home. We had already explained this to her and she summarily dismissed it. I got tipsy and told her what I thought. In a, mostly, nice way.

Friday, FIL disappears to the office for several hours. We are all wondering what was so important that it would cause him to go to the office on a day off and cause him to miss a game that he said he wanted to watch (Ala-Aub). When he returned, we found out that he went to the office so he could move his XM radio subscription and other electronic stuff over to his new car. (A caddy is anyone is curious. After years of telling me that he is just not a caddy kind of guy.) Hey, that couldn't have been done after we left! There is nothing more important than getting your new toy up and running when your grandkids are visiting (see above).

Needless to say, I did my best not to leave burnout marks at the top of his driveway as we left. Considering that I was driving a fully loaded down Corolla, I would have been impressed if we had left burnout marks.